radicalducati Chapter 339 The Long Night Will End
Chapter 339 The Long Night Will End
The old man surnamed Luo's shouts and curses gradually subsided as the moon set in the west. Looking at the slowly changing night sky in the east, the elders were also somewhat at a loss.
In their eyes, Zhang Chulan was no different from a hedgehog covered in thorns. Even though they had knocked the hedgehog unconscious, its invisible yet sharp thorns still made them quite wary.
Putting aside the employees of Na Du Tong in the distance, and the two Taoists "watching" them from behind, the secrets hidden in Zhang Chulan made the seniors envious, yet helpless.
They had no shortage of interrogation methods, but with only half a night to spare, some of them became unusable. Moreover, the results of their interrogation of Feng Tianyang back then left these old men feeling constrained.
They were terrified that a single misstep during interrogation could result in serious injury or even death, so they couldn't be too wary of the unknown methods.
After all, it's your own life. If you keep your life, it's never too late to take revenge after ten or even ten generations.
"If this won't work, and that won't work, then what exactly can you do?"
The old Gu master from Qinghe Village, holding a cane, tapped Zhang Chulan's body from a distance of a few steps, then with a flick of his wrist, turned the unconscious man over on the ground.
"Well, that's all we can do now."
An elderly man who had been standing silently at the back stepped forward, reached into the cloth bag at his waist, and pulled out a talisman with a yellow background and cinnabar.
"I wonder if this [True Word Talisman] will work."
The old man holding the talisman was a senior of the talisman school. He used the incantation and ritual corresponding to the mantra talisman, chanting incantations and making finger gestures to stuff the folded talisman paper into Zhang Chulan's mouth.
"brush--"
After the talisman entered Zhang Chulan's mouth, it ignited without fire and moved without wind. The bright white flames did not harm people, but were clear and lively, like a handful of clear water.
The "fire and water" formed by the burning talisman swirled in Zhang Chulan's mouth for a moment before flowing down his throat into his abdomen. A few flames rose up his trachea to his cheeks, forming a mysterious rune between his eyebrows.
"It's been planted. It seems that Zhang Chulan is now the one advocating for the physical body."
The elders nodded at this scene and stepped forward, almost pushing aside the talisman master who had just cast the spell.
Seeing this group of peers who were greedy and ungrateful and crowded around him, the old man from the Talisman Sect was so angry that he laughed. His face turned just like that of the old man Luo from the Yin God Sect before, speechless.
"Stop watching the show and ask quickly. The [True Word Talisman] is confusing the primordial spirit. If it goes on for a long time, it will damage Zhang Chulan's primordial spirit. If he becomes mentally impaired in the future, it will be your responsibility."
"Okay, okay, we understand."
After uttering his last words to shirk responsibility, the elder of the Talisman Sect let his peers, who were crowding around him, push him aside. He then stood at the back of the crowd, observing the scene from a distance.
At this moment, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Old Man Luo of the Yin Shen Sect not only did not come closer, but instead surrounded Feng Baobao and looked her over. Although he was composed and his expression did not change, his deep doubts were still clearly visible.
"Luo, what did you find?"
While listening to his peers interrogate Zhang Chulan, the elder from the Talisman Sect walked towards the elder surnamed Luo and asked in a low voice.
"You noticed something was off about this girl too?"
Old Luo remained silent. He glanced at the two Taoists behind him, then at Feng Baobao, who was staring at him with wide eyes. As if he had finally confirmed something, he spoke with a meaningful tone.
"I see, Feng Baobao, Baobao, no wonder she has that name."
The elder of the talisman sect nodded in agreement upon hearing this nonsensical remark, but said nothing.
Baby, this isn't a formal name, but rather a term of endearment.
It generally indicates the parents' favoritism towards their child, but it can also indirectly convey a hidden meaning, namely, the age of the person being addressed.
Of course, there are couples who have a deep affection for each other and secretly use this nickname, but Feng Baobao in front of us is not one of them.
That leaves only one explanation: Feng Baobao is indeed a "baby" who is "not very old".
The term "baby" or "child" is somewhat inappropriate when used to describe Feng Baobao, as she looks like a young person in her twenties.
However, in the eyes of the two senior figures at this moment, this definition and name were truly "very fitting".
Infants possess innate qualities that are not yet lost and whose sacred essence remains unchanged. Taoism even has a beautiful term to describe children at this stage: "golden boy and jade girl."
In the eyes of spiritual practitioners, the natural instincts of children are treasures comparable to "gold and jade".
Most importantly, children are not only naturally pure, but their bodies are also full of vitality and purity, exuding a "clean" beauty from the inside out.
This feeling makes them like blank sheets of paper, waiting for the outside world to leave its marks and stains on them.
The pursuit of rejuvenation by spiritual practitioners is precisely to achieve this feeling, but even those who are otherworldly and highly cultivated, such as Lü Qian and the Old Celestial Master, cannot completely return to this innocent and pure state.
The two Taoist priests displayed a different kind of straightforward simplicity, a genuine and unpretentious unity of mind and body.
This is similar to, yet quite different from, the innocent and pure nature of children.
It's like one piece is a naturally formed, unadorned gem, while the other is a piece of refined glass that has been cleansed of all artifice and restored to its true nature.
Although both are crystal clear and beautiful, a closer look reveals a completely different feeling.
In the eyes of these two seniors, Feng Baobao's seemingly foolish and silly behavior, which appears crazy, is actually in line with the nature of a child, as if she really is a child who has not yet grown up.
Here's where things get interesting: even if Feng Baobao really has intellectual problems and hasn't grown up, what's with her seemingly "clean" body?
Even if one's mind remains intact, the physical body, as a raft for traversing time, will still bear the marks of time, no matter how well it is maintained.
The marks weren't wrinkles or scars, but rather a sense of decay, a sense of conformity to nature.
The two elders cautiously refrained from using any tricks, simply meeting Feng Baobao's clear, clean eyes with their aged gazes, which seemed to see right through her.
In the moonlit woods, Zhang Chulan was being interrogated unconsciously on one side, while a silent scrutiny unfolded on the other.
Meanwhile, Lü Qian and Zhang Zhiwei, who were standing on the treetops, made a bet.
Lu Qian turned to look at the sky in the distance, which was about to lose its darkness, and squinted as he examined the chaotic and intertwined colors. A gentle breeze carried away his words.
"Master, do you think they might discover that secret?"